Exploring New Territory: MSL Update on Sol 1150

On Sol 1148, we had a Mastcam observation of the target McLeod and a 10×1 mosaic to patch a gap in the mosaic from sol 1144. After that, we drove for 32 meters followed by standard post-drive imaging.

On Sol 1149, ChemCam did some calibration observations and Navcam and Mastcam did some standard atmospheric observations. The drive on Sol 1148 put us in range of some interesting rocks, and our plan for Sol 1150-1152 is focusing on analyzing our new surroundings.

On Sol 1150, Mastcam has an 8×4 mosaic of some interesting layered rocks, followed by ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the targets “Dunkirk” and “Duperow”. After the remote sensing is done, there will be three APXS observations of the targets “Exshaw”, “Ellis Canyon”, and “Ennis”.

On Sol 1152, our plan is to do Navcam, Mastcam, and ChemCam atmospheric observations plus some ChemCam focus tests. Ryan Anderson, a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL provides these updates. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by our absence during Wednesday this week as we were both in training classes and Ken was traveling. We appreciate your patience as we catch up with our regular posting schedule.